Santorum And Obama Neck and Neck In Pennsylvania, Poll Shows

LATimes ^ | March 14, 2012 | Colby Itkowitz and John L. Micek

[Steelfish]

Santorum And Obama Neck and Neck In Pennsylvania, Poll Shows

By Colby Itkowitz and John L. Micek March 14, 2012

Cutting into Mitt Romney's electability argument, Rick Santorum is statistically tied in a head-to-head matchup with President Obama in Pennsylvania. And the former Pennsylvania senator leads the Republican pack in the state.

Obama has 45% to Santorum's 44%, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University. Obama tops Romney 46% to 40%, Gingrich 50% to 37% and Ron Paul 45% to 40%.

Meanwhile, on the heels of a group of establishment Republicans endorsing Romney in Harrisburg this week, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge declared his support for the former Massachusetts governor Wednesday morning.

Ridge, who served as the nation's first Homeland Security secretary, was an early supporter of presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman. Huntsman, after dropping out, threw his weight behind Romney.

"Having spent most my life in public service, as a soldier, as a congressman, as a governor of Pennsylvania, as a White House official, and as a secretary of Homeland Security, I've met accomplished and strong leaders in my life. Mitt Romney is one of them. He would bring to the presidency an extraordinary set of skills," Ridge said in a statement sent out by the Romney campaign.

Romney can use all the help he can get in Pennsylvania, where the state's former U.S. senator, Santorum, is leading by double digits there ahead of the April 24 primary.

The new poll found Santorum with 36% of registered Republican support and 22% for Romney.

The poll was conducted March 7 through Monday and surveyed 1, 256 registered voters and includes 508 registered Republicans.

Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac pollster, said Santorum's standing among both the Republican electorate and the statewide electorate was "remarkable" given his dramatic ouster from the Senate by...

[AmericanInTokyo]

The only things they will be able to throw at him will be condoms, Catholicism, and White Guilt Card, and that is about it. I think he will be a tireless, vigorous, spirited campaigner, courageous in the face of all odds (which means an Obama and US MSM joined at the hip with sychophant Obama-suckers luke Soledad O’Brien or Anderson Cooper and Candy Crowley), but Santorum of the nominee will continue to show his mettle just as he has earned his stripes for positive, tireless efforts in this primary race, coming from way back in the pack to the leading Conservative left to take on Romney. Romney now is our only impediment to the match up with Obama, whereby the People will hopefully render him a one-term report card, with an “F” grade.